Craig 'will do Larsson justice'

Daniel Craig will do Stieg Larsson justice, film producer Soren Staermose has said.

The 007 star has been filming his role as investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist in David Fincher's Hollywood remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and Soren - who produced both adaptations - reckons he is the right man for the role.

"There's no doubt about that - Daniel is a great actor and very likeable, so we are super-confident," he said.

The Swedish film producer also heaped praise on Rooney Mara, who portrays troubled computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, originally played by Noomi Rapace.

"It is a big role, but she's a very good actress and she goes all the way," Soren continued.

"I saw her in The Social Network and thought she was incredible. She is much younger, and is going to do a faithful adaptation. She is extraordinary."

While the Swedish big-screen adaptations of Stieg Larsson's best-selling novel trilogy have been a hit, Soren hopes David's remake will bring a new audience.

"We are so proud to get David Fincher on board. The Stieg Larsson family is very proud too, because a big director like him and the way he can adapt such a big, huge book," he said.

"With an American movie, when they cross borders, they can reach corners of the world that we don't hit with our Swedish version. A big US version is very important for the Stieg Larsson estate too. We are very happy."

Indexing test

My indexing test is here

The One and Only Ocean Club from Casino Royale

One of the most impressive locations in Casino Royale was the One and Only Ocean Club in Paradise Island in the Bahamas. In addition to real luxury, with first class restaurants with HUGE prices, the main attraction is the unspoilt beaches with ocean views - the girls will remember that scene when Daniel Craig comes out of the water :-)

Villas in the resort hotel are eye wateringly expensive, but there are cheaper accommodations available there. Just remember to practise your texas holdem before you visit and maybe you'll win an Aston MArtin DB5 too.

The curse of best man speeches

Although the thought of best man speeches may fill you with dread a few moments after the honor be being asked by the groom, they aren't as bad as you might think. Best man speeches tend to follow a formula that people expect, and since they want to be entertained it takes some of the weight off your shoulders - or it should.

The bulk of the speech is a funny story, all you need to do is add an intro and a conclusion, and bingo, Bob's your uncle. Think about what you're going to say, write it all down, practise it, rewrite it, and condense it into note form - that is all you need to do. On the day you speech will go fine and you'll feel like a million dollars. Read more about best man speeches.

Algerian Love Knot

Just seen this great product for all Bond girls out there - an Algerian Love Knot necklace similar to that in Casino Royale. Although it isn't by the same designer, it does look pretty good.

Good start to the year - no cold sores

Something of a miracle seems to have happened at the beginning of this year. Not only is the weather good, but so far I haven't had any cold sores. The ones I get are unpleasantly inside my nose, so at least not on my lips for everyone to see, but it gets a bit messy in there. However, many people do suffer from them at this time of year when the cold and dark does its best to knock down our immune systems into the state where the virus comes out of hiding. Knowing how to get rid of cold sores is important therefore to boost our self esteem when we have these bloody horrid sores. I count myself lucky.

Barcelona tickets for Copa del Rey

After Barcelona's draw in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, the next round seems them play Sevilla. Sure to be a competitive opposition, Sevilla visit the Nou Camp on 15/16 January. Find more information about reserving Barcelona tickets online at Simple Barcelona Tickets.

Learn to speak Spanish with Rocket Spanish

There are several good Spanish language packages now available to download online and one of the most talked about is called Rocket Spanish.

Focusing on getting students to understand and speak Spanish as it is really used on a day to day basis rather than the over formal language in many language courses, it consists of audio and video lessons combined with written lessons to consolidate the information.

Find out how you can learn to speak Spanish with Rocket Spanish

Juventus

One of Turin's big attractions is that it is home to one of the best loved football teams in Italy, Juventus.

Although they were relegated to the second division in 2006-2007 for a match rigging scandal and started with negative points, they surged to the top of the second division and are now back where they belong.

Read more info on how to get Juventus tickets

Car Rental in Puerto Rico

The best place for car rental in Puerto Rico for tourists is at the airport when you arrive. You can rent your car on the arrivals side before clearing US immigration and within minutes be ready to be on your way. With gas prices cheap and car rental very reasonable it is the ideal means of transport while you're there.

Daniel Craig gearing up for James Bond 22

Daniel Craig has been photographed recently driving a speedboat in his rehearsals for James Bond 22. In an interview on Jonathan Ross he said that he had started rehearsing that day for some of the action scenes and with just three weeks before photography starts he is into it like crazy. For the next film he is reportedly trying not to build up so much muscle and is therefore practising yoga and pilates. All will be revealed in the fullness of time though and perhaps we'll be terated to some early footage in March, as we were with Casino Royale in 2006.

Get The Most Out of Your Cold Sore Treatment

One of the keys to effective cold sore treatment is to realize when you're about to suffer one and start applying a treatment immediately. Most people experience a tingling sensation in the infected area and by applying a cream or other treatment to that spot the chances of it progressing to its worst capability are diminished. The other key getting the most out of your cold sore treatment is to find out what works for you. Not everything works uniformly, but if you take note of what seems to be effective you can have the treatment ready for your next attack.

Barcelona FC clashes with Arctic Monkeys

We're just a couple of days away from the first Barcelona derby - RCD Espanyol against FC Barcelona - and they move it to Saturday night just when I'll be seeing the Arctic Monkeys! Oh well, we'll miss it despite it being screened to TV3.
More details about Barcelona FC tickets and other details.

Why Learn Spanish in Barcelona?

Barcelona seems to be an extremely popular destination to learn Spanish, although quite why that is I'm not sure.
The reason I say that is that Barcelona is defiantly pro-Catalan but it's even quite difficult to find Catalan classes in the city, while there are dozens of Spanish academies. People come from all over to learn Spanish but then they'll encounter Catalan on the street very often, which must be confusing.

From The Italian Job to one of the top Turin hotels

If you're like me you've probably seen the original version of The Italian Job quite a few times - that's the one with Michael Caine and set in Turin, Italy.
One of the great bits in the film is when the minis race through Turin loaded with gold, at one point doing a circuit or two on the rooftop test track of Fiat's Turin headquarters, with the Italian police in hot pursuit.
Well, that building with the test track is now one of Turin's top hotels, the Art+Tech, converted into a 5 star hotel in time for the 2006 Winter Olympics. The test track is still there, although now used as a running track for guests, so you can recreate your own Italian Job moments on your own 2 feet.
More info: Turin Hotels

Why you should head for Puerto Rico beaches

Let me ask you this: can you imagine crystal clear water full of tropical fish? And white sand beaches stretching as far as the eye can see? Great weather in the winter months? And coral reefs within swimming distance of shore?
If you can imagine all that then Puerto Rico is definitely for you. The island is US Commonwealth and located in the Caribbean, so easy to get to and no need for a passport, visa or any of that tuff, plus the currency is US dollars too! Go back to my first questions: can you imagine yourself there, on those Puerto Rico beaches? I thought so...

James Bond in 2008

The most famous undercover agent in the world, namely James Bond, is making a welcome return in the shape of Daniel Craig next year after the script was handed in - apparently unpolished - just a few days before the writers strike began earlier this month.
While we still have to wait until November 2008 until the next film in the installment is released there are a few plans for 2008, the centenary of the birth of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.
The first of these is the release by the Royal Mail of a special series of stamps to commemorate Fleming's birth, which feature some of the book covers. Then the Imperial War Museum in London devotes an exhibition to Fleming and Bond. Finally a new book, written by Sebastian Faulks, will be released to coincide with Fleming's actual birthday on 28th May.

FC Barcelona football tickets - it's going to get worse before it gets better

There are two very good reasons for redeveloping FC Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium, although it'll take some time to get used to the new facade.

• The first is that a roof for everyone is long overdue as it's not much fun being there when it really pours - and in Barcelona it knows how to rain sometimes

• The availability of Barcelona football tickets should get better because at the moment it can be difficult to get good seats, especially if you want to be seated together.

The problem is that the the number of seats will surely go down while they are working on the project, so it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Chicken curry recipes and Indian Restaurants in Barcelona

Usually the chicken curry recipes offered by Indian restaurants in Barcelona aren't spicy enough for me, but last week I was talking the the owner of one and he told me why.

The reason is simply that they don't use chillis in the cooking because Spaniards, on the whole, don't like it. He did also tell me that if I asked for chilli to be put in any dish I asked for they would do it.

I'll try it sometime soon, but it sounds like it could be ass-searingly hot.

Numbers in Spanish on Ezine Articles

Just to let you know that Ezine Articles has published the first of a series on numbers in Spanish. Part II should appear some time next week.